Oregon State comes back for Victory

When the Oregon State players came running out of the large Beaver helmet inside Reser Stadim yesterday after halftime, they were excited. Washington State was really excited. The Beaver fans weren’t. A quick glance at the scoreboard would yield a score of 30-16 WSU. The Cougs had just finished a explosive first half, with Alex Brink throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown, star reciever Jason Hill already with 173 yards, and running back Jerome Harrison with 103 yards. Still, the Beavers weren’t downhearted.
Their second half comeback started late in the third when middle linebacker Trent Bray intercepted Cougar QB Alex Brink. That was Brink’s first interception he’d thrown in 94 completions. A touchdown was then produced, bringing the Cougars lead to 30-23. Later in the fourth quarter, the Beavers turned the ball over the ball just when they had the record crowd of 42,908 back into the game. They sat down waiting for the next big play. Bang. Oregon State Safety Sabby Piscetelli intercepted Brink and sprinted for the end zone, and Alexis Serna’s point after tied the game at 30 with 10:34 left in the game. Just like that, the Beavers reserected themselves ane were back in it.
Washington State then got a field goal, putting them back in the driver’s seat with a 8:46 to go. The next time Washington State got the ball, Alex Brink threw a short pass to WR Jason Hill and he was off to the races. Weakside linebacker Al Afalava caught up with him at the 21 yard line and punched the ball out ( above right). Sabby was right there with him, and picked up the ball eluded a couple defenders, and was tackled. The Beavers got to about their 47 yard line, when Moore droped back and Mike Hass was sent on a 12 yard curl route. Hass noticed he had his coverage beat, so he took off down the field with his hand in the air. Moore dodged a bullet from WSU linebacker Will Derting, (below) noticed Hass downfield, and threw the ball as hard as he could.
“Mike had his hand up and I just threw it out there.” Moore said after the game.
Hass caught the ball, and ran into the endzone, completing the 63 yard pass. 37-33 OSU.
“Thats exactly how we drew it up” Riley joked later in the Valley Football Center.
And the Beavers still weren’t done. Jeff Van Orsow had yet another pick off Brink. The Beavs drove down the field, came up with a comical 10 yard QB Sneak, and tacked another 7 on with less than a minute remaining. The Cougs had one last chance to put it into the endzone on attempt an onside kick, but they couldn’t do either. Final Score: OSU 44, WSU 33. The Beavers outscored the Cougars 28-3 in the second half, propelling them ahead. The major factor for Oregon State was its defense. They had 14 tackles for loss, and Washington State only had one. WSU punter Kyle Basler set a school record for punt yardage with 219, and the Beavers didn’t even get to see him until the third quarter.

Whatever was said at half time, worked. Was it Derek Anderson visiting OSU from his backup role with the Cleveland Browns? It could have been. He was scheduled for a halftime interview with OSU Radio Annoncer Micheal Convery, went into the locker room at the the beginning of halftme for a drink, and didn’t come back out until after halftime.
“We were far from pretty or perfect,” Riley said. “But like I said from the beggining: this team has to grow. And I think in some wayts we are doing that. Obviously, thier heart is good.”
WSU coach Bill Doba added: “They made some great plays.” “They made plays, we didn’t.”